Titan stands out as the largest moon of Saturn and the second-largest natural satellite from our Solar System after Ganymede. But that’s not all when it comes to Titan. Saturn’s moon is the only known space object except for Earth on which there is enough evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid, and it’s also the only natural satellite having a dense atmosphere.
Therefore, you’ve already guessed that it would be exciting to learn more about the atmosphere of Titan. Researchers involved in a new study think the same, as they’ve recreated those conditions on Earth.
Titan’s atmosphere recreated in small cylinders of glass
EurekAlert.org speaks about an experiment that was presented during a meeting for the American Chemical Society (ACS). The researchers used small glass cylinders to recreate the atmosphere of Titan in them. After adding liquid water, the scientists reduced the temperature to about -290°F, meaning as cold as it is on Titan.
The molecules acetonitrile and propionitrile appearing in the cylinders during the researchers’ experiment revealed some new important information. It was a mystery how these structures could exist on Titan.
Scientist Tomče Runčevski explains as quoted by ScreenRant.com:
For example, we found that one crystalline form of PCN [propionitrile] does not expand uniformly along its three dimensions. Titan goes through temperature swings, and if the thermal expansion of the crystals is not uniform in all directions, it may cause the moon’s surface to crack.
It’s obvious that scientists need to learn more about the chemistry of Titan’s surface. Additionally, we can all still hope that one day, humanity will find traces of alien life on Saturn’s moon. Most probably, they would only be represented by microbial life. However, astronomers still don’t lose in finding such organism on Mars, as they’re using rovers to explore the Red Planet.